


cobwebs in your cupboard

by sarangx



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Bullying, Fluff, M/M, aw shit here we go again, changbin lowkey has aspergers, jisung is just “:D”, lapslock, “bad boy” changbin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 15:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19379635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarangx/pseuds/sarangx
Summary: changbin rarely uses his magic. but then he stumbles upon a cute boy being slammed into the lockers, and well, that plan’s out the window now.





	cobwebs in your cupboard

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is largely influenced by how i personally think. my social anxiety disorder diagnosis has recently been changed to aspergers so. . .i thought i’d project in light of that. it actually makes a lot of sense lmao
> 
> also! the title is from cavetown’s old song “just add water”! all of his songs, new and old, are so calming and nice and relatable. you should maybe check him out xx

changbin sat, staring up at his ceiling from the ground of his room as he leaned against his bed. above him were the glow-in-the-dark stars he’d pasted when he was younger, still shining a faint yellow in the darkness of his room. they were worn, and sometimes they didn’t work at all or were so dim he’d have to squint to see them, but they were always there.

as someone who hated change, changbin appreciated that about them. ever since he’d put them up there with help from his big brother all those years ago, they remained in the same place. they were a constant; things that stayed day in and day out, week after week, month after month, and year after year. their luminosity dwindled, but even still, they remained.

and even though his brother had long since left for studying abroad, so far from seoul and far from his family, the stars reminded changbin that the memory was still alive.

he glanced through heavy lids at the digital clock. _3:18 am._ he sighed through his nose and let his head fall back against the bed, closing his eyes. the low, monotonous ticking of the grandfather clock outside in the hall seemed to taunt him, reminding him that time would always move with or without him.

there was something heavy in his chest; something cold that warranted a shiver. his head was a mess, half-thoughts tumbling around as his demons made him remember everything he had to do. finish an essay for history, work on the math project, get groceries for the week, work at the flower shop tuesday and thursday—he wished everything, for one moment, could just _stop_.

but the grandfather clock kept ticking. and in the back of his mind, he supposed that would never change, either.

 

 

> _i’m feeling salty, but i’m not the sea_
> 
> _i’m fungus in freshwater_
> 
> _cobwebs in your cupboard_

 

 

changbin woke up to his phone’s alarm. he looked around tiredly, and after rubbing his eyes, he found that he’d fallen asleep leaning against his bed. he groaned as he got to his feet, hearing his back crack along with at least seven hundred joints, never mind the realistic amount. there was an awful crick in his neck, too, that made him wince when he turned his head to turn off his phone.

after taking a quick shower that soothed his stiff muscles, he felt a bit better. he was still exhausted, but that was practically routine for him thanks to his insomnia. all he could do was rub his eyes again and brew some coffee.

as he waited for the coffee pot to heat up, he walked through the living room to the end of the hall to check on mother. the door was mostly closed except for a small crack, so he fortunately didn’t have to worry about the creak of the doorknob this time around.

he quietly let himself in, slipping into the bedroom and to the side of the bed. their cat, a handsome old tabby named spear, lifted his head and blinked slowly before curling up to sleep again.

mother remained asleep, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she dreamed. her skin was a sickly pale, and there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead, visible even in the darkness of the room.

changbin frowned and gently put the back of his hand to her forehead, his touch feather-light. he sighed when he felt a scorching heat, disappointed that her fever still hadn’t broken. delicately, he pushed her bangs to the side and squeezed her hand before leaving to fetch a wet towel.

once he’d taken care of mother—and had given spear a good pat—he poured himself a cup of coffee as an excuse of a breakfast. he downed the cup in two seconds flat after he realized he only had five minutes till he had to leave.

he hurriedly made a glass of water for mother along with the right amount of medicine, setting it on her bedside table with a note reminding her of the times to take them. although she was unconscious, he still planted a soft kiss on her head before scooping up his backpack and leaving.

the walk to school wasn’t long—only about ten minutes. he used that time to mentally prepare himself for all the stares he’ll be sure to get. his dark hair, ear piercings, and cold eyes were going to attract the same attention they always did. apparently, he was the spitting image of a bad boy, and everyone wanted to talk about the ‘bad boy’. changbin didn’t really get it because he’d never done anything inherently bad. maybe he glared a few times, but that was well justified considering how many assholes went to his school. he didn’t mind it too much, though, because no matter how much attention he got, no one ever dared to talk to him.

he’d heard some pretty fantastical rumors that could explain his reputation, however. apparently, some people thought he was apart of a gang, or even some kind of edgy rebel cult. changbin wasn’t quite sure what the cult thing was all about, but it definitely scared people. some even thought he was a magic user capable of necromancy. that one was actually half-true; changbin was, in fact, apart of the small percentage of people able to do magic. he couldn’t bring back the dead, though—he could just move things with his mind. he definitely thought the necromancy would be a lot cooler.

he rarely used his telekinesis. he never found a real use for it since he’d get tired if he used it too much, and most of the time he could do things normally without magic.

changbin looked up to see the front gate of his school opening and heaved a sigh. he shook himself a bit, and after he scratched at his black nail polish only a little, he started towards his school.

_don’t look at them. don’t make eye contact, watch for touch—move a little to the side. careful. just head to your locker. it’s fine. breathe._ changbin kept calming himself down, wary of his fast heart rate that could easily escalate to a panic attack. he tried not to think about that.

as he unlocked his locker and stuffed a few textbooks inside, he saw two girls looking at him and giggling to each other in the corner of his eye. that was normal, sure, but when one of them actually started walking towards him, well, that wasn’t.

“hey,” she said shyly, looking down at her hands with a bashful smile.

changbin wasn’t used to this. he was used to the stares but never the engaging. this was new. this was _change_.

“so i know we don’t know each other, but. . .” the girl paused, covering her nervous laugh behind her hand. “i think it’d be cool if we could, i dunno, hang out some time?”

“why?”

_stupid! stupid! you know why!_  changbin berated himself, but it was too late and he had said it colder than he would’ve liked. he wanted to punch himself for being such a colossal dumbass.

the girl looked dumbfounded for a moment, caught off-guard by his icy tone. she shifted uncomfortably and sent a glance to her friend who was watching the whole thing. now that he realized it, a lot of the people in the hall were watching them. he felt his palms start to sweat.

before he could even think of some sort of apology, the girl just mumbled a “sorry i asked” and scrambled back over to her friend who immediately started laughing at her. everyone else only rolled their eyes at the girl.

it was then that changbin realized, oh, it was a dare. she had been dared to ask him out. of course. why else would she have proposed such a thing?

he shook his head with a sigh and turned back to his locker. how didn’t he see it before? maybe her acting was just that good. or maybe changbin was even dumber than he thought.

before he slipped his phone into his hoodie pocket, he saw that it was only a matter of a few minutes until the bell rang. he shut his locker and made his way to the east wing of the school where his first period was, and also where not as many people were—both very good things.

as he was about to round a corner, he heard a loud slam against metal. then there was a hiss of pain, followed by amused laughter. changbin peeked his head out slightly to see what was happening.

it looked like two bullies—if changbin remembered correctly, their names were hyungmin and yongpil—had just thrown a boy into the lockers. he was on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut with a pained grimace on his face. more than anything, though, he looked absolutely pissed.

“fuck was that for, douchebag?” he growled out, eyes opening to glare at the other two boys. “i was minding my own fucking business, and you thought it would be a good idea to toss me into some metal doors? jesus, goddamn psychos.”

the boy was cute, changbin had to admit, and even through the pain he was pouting. it seemed to be involuntary, which changbin found even cuter. the boy’s round cheeks were puffed out in annoyance, making him resemble an irritated squirrel. it was no wonder hyungmin and yongpil had targeted him.

“hey, watch your mouth!” hyungmin bit back, laughter suddenly disappearing. “i’ll do a lot more than throw you into some metal doors, bitch. a _lot_ more.”

“wow, i’m terrified,” the boy deadpanned, looking extremely unimpressed despite the bruises he’d be likely to develop from the blow he’d taken.

changbin was starting to get uneasy. he’d seen the two bullies throw some solid punches before, and the boy’s nonchalance was likely to anger them so much they’d break and actually hurt the boy for revenge and not for some petty fun. hyungmin was already practically steaming, yongpil fuming beside him with a sneer.

it was too late before changbin could actually do anything, though, because yongpil had already landed a harsh kick to the boy’s ribs. the boy let out a pained wheeze from the force of it, curling his body inward to protect himself.

on impulse, when changbin saw another kick being prepared, he thrust out his mind to put force on yongpil’s foot, pushing it back. the bully stumbled out of surprise, falling to the ground and looking down in confusion.

hyungmin tried to grab for the boy instead, but changbin was quick to cause yongpil’s backpack to fly up and knock hyungmin in the head, sending him reeling. before yongpil could intercept again, changbin sent the backpack his way, too, slamming him against the lockers.

the two bullies shouted a jumble of profanities, and something about not messing with a magic user before they both stumbled to their feet and bolted off, not once sparing the boy another glance.

changbin’s eyes were still glowing violet from the use of his magic, so when he looked back over at the boy, he jumped back when he saw the boy was staring back.

“you- you’re. . .” the boy stuttered, eyes wide. “you’re- aren’t you, like, the bad boy?”

he didn’t look scared or intimidated which was honestly a nice change. he was just curious, so changbin thought that he might as well talk to him since he’d found out changbin was a magic user.

“um,” he shuffled out from the corner, looking around to see if anyone was listening. “not really. i just- i just kinda dress like one i guess.” he twisted the ring around his finger to quell his anxiety. he was shaking slightly, and there was a nagging exhaustion that came as a result of using his magic. “are you. . .okay?”

“just a few bruises. would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t come in,” the boy said with a grin, and oh, that kind of made changbin feel warm. “i’m surprised no one knows you’re a magic user, though.”

“oh, well.” changbin paused to sort his thoughts. “i don’t really use my telekinesis all that much. it makes me tired, and i usually already am anyway.”

changbin stayed several feet away from the boy; enough to give them both space but also to see if the boy would be okay and if he needed help.

“oh, i’m sorry. you must be tired then. . .uh, what’s your name? sorry,” the boy said with an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “everyone talks about you but no one seems to know your name.”

“ah, well, i’m changbin,” changbin said softly, smiling a little. this was good. he hadn’t said anything weird yet.

“oh! changbin! cute!” the boy exclaimed, and his whole face seemed to brighten with how much he beamed. something told changbin it was because he smiled, but that couldn’t be right. “i’m han jisung! and we need to go to class in like three seconds, okay, wow, could you. . .help me up, changbin?”

“uh, sure.”

carefully, changbin reached out to jisung, pulling him up by the hand. the boy leaned against him for a moment before he righted himself.

“thanks so much! i was so stupid before—talking like that to them,” jisung said with a laugh, only to clutch at his side with a flinch. “ah, it hurts a little. but i’ll be fine.”

“are you sure?” changbin asked quietly, still holding jisung’s hand. he quickly let go with flushed cheeks. “i- maybe you should go to the nurse.”

jisung smiled at him fondly, giggling a little.

“don’t worry, changbin! it’ll be fine. and really, thank you so much! i hope i get to see you around,” he said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

the bell rang as soon as changbin mumbled a “you, too”—he wasn’t sure if jisung heard it before he waved and slipped into the throng of a growing crowd.

this was new. and it was change. but for the first time, changbin wasn’t that opposed to it.

**Author's Note:**

> hey! wow! it’s been—me: looks at nonexistent watch—half a year since i posted! whoops! i’ve been writing other stuff and it’s taking me a long time i’m sorry~ my main fic rn is an ateez cafe au (that i started in january... and it’s almost july...) and i still haven't finished it. i’m kind of taking a break from it, and will be joining a ficfest in july that’ll be done in, like, october so i figured i’d try and post something before then.
> 
> this was just a bit of a blurb, but i do have some ideas if anyone wants me to continue it. i don't know when or if i will, but. . .still lol


End file.
